1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to furniture, and specifically to seat systems for legless leisure chairs that are appropriate for use on a floor or the ground.
2. Discussion of Prior Art
Presently, there are a number of solutions for making seat cushions that are used on legless leisure chairs. A number of the solutions require making the seat cushion relatively thin, or making the point of attachment virtually at the point where the face of the backrest portion of the chair contacts the floor.
U.S. Pat. No. Des. 167,666 to Argento discloses a "televiewing floor rest" which is in a generally wedge shape. Though no description of the seat construction is given, clearly the seat is tapered to relatively sharp edge. It also appears that the upholstery material on the seat cushion is merely a continuation of the upholstery material on the main backrest portion of the chair. The seat cushion appears to be attached to the face of the backrest.
The combined ottoman and collapsible backrest in U.S. Pat. No. 2,966,205 to Blaschko shows a seat cushion which folds. The cushions shown are relatively thin, and the pivot points seem to be a continuation of each of the cushions, such that they seem to pivot somewhat like a folding gym mat.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,995,335 to Neely discloses a backrest made of a number of pillows attached to a frame, designed to enable invalids to sit up in bed. The "seat" cushion is comprised of a rounded pillow or bumper followed by a flat portion of two ply fabric. The seat is obviously not for use on a floor.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,410,214 to Geschwonder discloses a leisure chair with a seat cushion which is covered by material which forms a pocket, and where the material which covers the seat forms integrally with the cover. While this seat has a flap, the flap is described as being for covering the outer end of the backrest frame portion. One version of this chair on the market has the seat sewn directly to the cover, with no flap. The seat cushion shown in the patent is designed to be flipped forward on the face of the backrest for storage. This would not be feasible if the backrest had a two inch thick backrest cushion on it.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,308,410 to Winter discloses a seat cushion which is very thin near the point where it attaches to the backrest frame or where some kind of flap comes out as shown in Winter's FIG. 12. The flap that extends from the seat cushion filling to the attachment point does not appear to be a continuation of the material on the side of the seat cushion shown. If the cushion filling were substantially thicker at that point, it could be difficult to sew in that manner. Winter's FIG. 6 shows the seat cushion attached to the lower edge of the upholstering. FIGS. 11, 12, and 14 show the seat cushion attached to the cross member on the base member of the frame, which is inches behind the backrest frame. The seat cushion is not wider than the frame, and in fact in FIG. 12 is shown narrower than the frame. Winter's FIG. 14 shows the seat cushion made from a continuation of the material on the backrest. The Winter chair also does not provide any cushioned support for the lower legs.
Other inventions which may relate to this field include foldable futons which are filled with foam, and have no frame. These fold in a manner similar to the way gym mats fold. The one I have studied has zippers enabling the upholstery to be sewn before the cushions are installed. There are also relatively new bean bag chair styles which have a "footrest" which consists of just a pillow type cushion filled with polystyrene pellets. Though the bean chair has a totally different seat and backrest, the footrest is similar in some respects to the ottoman of the present invention. There are however some noteworthy differences that appear to make the footrest less suitable for use with the present invention. First, the ottoman of the present invention is suitable for supporting the calves and heels of a person sitting on a leisure chair when the person stretches their legs out, and also of supporting the insoles of the feet when the person bends their knees. In order to effectively support the insoles of the feet when a person is sitting on the type of leisure chair the present invention is for, there needs to be some resistance on the part of the ottoman. While I do not wish to be bound by this, I do not see how a footrest filled with polystyrene beads and covered with vinyl could effectively support a person's feet when the insoles are pushing on the edge of the ottoman closest to the chair. Also, while I do not wish to be bound by this, I am not aware of these footrests being on the market before my application for U.S. Pat. No. 5,836,653 showing an ottoman Jun. 19, 1995. It should further be noted that my U.S. Pat. No. 5,425,567 filed in 1992 states on page 38 line 11, "Also, a specially designed type of ottoman or legrest can be used with the backrest/leisure chair." There are also ordinary chairs where a loose seat cushion simply sits on the seat decking of the chair. Obviously this does not require the seat cushion to be attached to frame. This type of seat is not very suitable for a legless leisure chair of the type referred to, because legless leisure chairs have no decking or frame underneath the seat cushion, and without attachment the seat cushion would slide away from the backrest.
All of the seat cushions for legless leisure chairs heretofore known to me have disadvantages when used with legless leisure chairs described in my previous disclosures, because they do not provide a simple relatively thick seat cushion in an attractive and very functional relationship to a cushioned backrest.